The United States and Japan will step up their defence cooperation to deal with the threat from nuclear-armed North Korea as tensions in East Asia remain high, officials from the two allies said on Thursday.

Devil-heavy zoo adds echidnas to menagerie

A family-owned zoo south of Perth is expanding its sizeable menagerie with two young echidnas whose enclosure was provided thanks to the kindness of strangers.

Peel Zoo in Pinjarra on Friday welcomed two female echidnas, Moa and Kain, both four years old.

Surplus to Perth Zoo's breeding requirements, the echidnas are now housed in a new enclosure built from recycled materials donated by local businesses, including about 1300 second-hand timber sleepers.

Zoo co-owner David Cobbold said he simply put the word out on social media that help was needed.

"It's really heartwarming to see people chip in," he told AAP.

Another preparation for the echidna's arrival - devising a diet that nutritionally matched the termites the egg-laying mammals normally eat - was more complicated, Mr Cobbold said.

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Mr Cobbold said he and wife Narelle aimed to expand on the collection of well over 100 native species at their hands-on, bushland-set zoo.

He couldn't tally exactly how many animals were there, given it is reproduction season.

"Because it's spring, whatever I tell you now might change by this afternoon. There's babies everywhere."

The zoo made headlines last year when three Tasmanian devils - Itchy, Scratchy, and Genghis - escaped after their enclosure was damaged by a fallen tree.

They were recovered days later.

Peel Zoo is also building a name for itself for devil breeding programs, recently moving the trio's half-brothers Saxon and Vandal to Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney, where they have added genetic diversity to the resident colony.